Rumor has it that Michigan head football coach Brady Hoke and Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz were out partying all weekend. That may be the only possible excuse they could give for the pair of bonehead decisions they made toward the tail-end of their games this past weekend.
Down 9-6 to Northwestern late in the 4th quarter on Saturday, Brady Hoke decided to go for it on a 4th-and-2 inside the Northwestern 10-yard line. Quarterback Devon Gardner ran to the outside, only to be stopped short of a first down - handing the ball back over to the Wildcats. Luckily for Hoke, Michigan was able to pull off a miracle field goal with no time remaining to send the game to overtime, only to win 27-19 in triple overtime. I'm curious what Hoke was thinking. His offense has struggled immensely this season, especially of late. The game had not featured a single touchdown to that point in the game. The chip-shot field goal would have been almost automatic, tied the game, and likely sent it to overtime, with a chance to win in the extra session. By going for it, he placed his team in a very bad situation, especially since they had already burned a timeout in the second half and only had two remaining. Hoke better be pleasuring his special teams coach this week, because if not for the grand preparation of his unit, members of the Michigan and national media would be all over Hoke this week like John Madden on a Thanksgiving turkey.
The end result of Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz's bonehead move wasn't as good as Hoke's, and while some members of the media are calling his move "gutsy," others, and rightly so, are calling it stupid. Up 27-23 early in the 4th quarter, Schwartz decided to fake a field goal from the Pittsburgh 5-yard line, only to see the slow holder fumble the ball and see it recovered at the 3-yard line. The Steelers would go on to score the go-ahead touchdown on that drive, before adding one more to win 37-27. What in the world was Schwartz thinking? There wasn't anything "gutsy" about that. It was about as gutsy as a basketball player heaving a full-court shot with 10 seconds left, down by 2. With that chip-shot field goal by veteran David Akers, the Lions would have been up a touchdown at 30-23. At the very worst, Pittsburgh could have tied them on the following possession. With that bonehead play, the momentum of the game shifted drastically, and Detroit never recovered. If Schwartz was intent on going for the touchdown, he should at least have kept his offense out on the field - you know, that Calvin Johnson fella could have done him some good, as opposed to a holder with about as much experience running for touchdowns in the NFL as I do and I've never played in a game at that level. I've seen a lot of bonehead calls, but this may be the dumbest one I've seen by an NFL head coach this season.
Down 9-6 to Northwestern late in the 4th quarter on Saturday, Brady Hoke decided to go for it on a 4th-and-2 inside the Northwestern 10-yard line. Quarterback Devon Gardner ran to the outside, only to be stopped short of a first down - handing the ball back over to the Wildcats. Luckily for Hoke, Michigan was able to pull off a miracle field goal with no time remaining to send the game to overtime, only to win 27-19 in triple overtime. I'm curious what Hoke was thinking. His offense has struggled immensely this season, especially of late. The game had not featured a single touchdown to that point in the game. The chip-shot field goal would have been almost automatic, tied the game, and likely sent it to overtime, with a chance to win in the extra session. By going for it, he placed his team in a very bad situation, especially since they had already burned a timeout in the second half and only had two remaining. Hoke better be pleasuring his special teams coach this week, because if not for the grand preparation of his unit, members of the Michigan and national media would be all over Hoke this week like John Madden on a Thanksgiving turkey.
The end result of Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz's bonehead move wasn't as good as Hoke's, and while some members of the media are calling his move "gutsy," others, and rightly so, are calling it stupid. Up 27-23 early in the 4th quarter, Schwartz decided to fake a field goal from the Pittsburgh 5-yard line, only to see the slow holder fumble the ball and see it recovered at the 3-yard line. The Steelers would go on to score the go-ahead touchdown on that drive, before adding one more to win 37-27. What in the world was Schwartz thinking? There wasn't anything "gutsy" about that. It was about as gutsy as a basketball player heaving a full-court shot with 10 seconds left, down by 2. With that chip-shot field goal by veteran David Akers, the Lions would have been up a touchdown at 30-23. At the very worst, Pittsburgh could have tied them on the following possession. With that bonehead play, the momentum of the game shifted drastically, and Detroit never recovered. If Schwartz was intent on going for the touchdown, he should at least have kept his offense out on the field - you know, that Calvin Johnson fella could have done him some good, as opposed to a holder with about as much experience running for touchdowns in the NFL as I do and I've never played in a game at that level. I've seen a lot of bonehead calls, but this may be the dumbest one I've seen by an NFL head coach this season.
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